A Baker's Daughter

What happens when a devoted daughter begins to revive her famous-baker-dad's recipes, and instead uncovers a hidden family history? In this case, a narrative cookbook—about people. Marcy Brenner's devotion to her dad, Max, is evident from the first line to the last, but her journey of discovery goes back in time, to long before she tasted her first Chocolate Top Cookie. As she teaches herself to bake like a pro—by decoding Max's cryptic, commercial recipe cards—she follows the story of generations of bakers who both protected their past and used love as their primary ingredient.

Marcy is a musician, songwriter, author, and cancer advocate. She balances a need for solitude with her joy in sharing music and serving others; her book, A Baker’s Daughter, allowed her to serve her ancestors by telling a story they could not tell for themselves—and celebrating her father. Her music audience, many of whom also were fans of the family bakery, are thrilled to bring his recipes into their own homes.

As a cancer survivor and inspirational speaker, Marcy travels all over the country—sharing her message of prevailing, a backhanded gift that cancer bestowed on her. She “goes anywhere and does anything” to help others through their cancer journeys. A 2008 documentary film of her story, entitled Dead Girl Walking—made by Ray Schmitt of Real Earth Productions—won the Amazing Grace Award at Toronto’s BreastFest Film Festival, among other honors at various festivals and events.

Marcy has written, recorded, and published three original music CDs: Home To Me, Another Year Blooms, and My Live Oak.

This book is about families. Kristin (Marcy calls her Krissy) comes by her profession because she fledged from a family tree populated by writers, from both branches of the maternal line. Family genealogists have linked her great-great-grandfather, California historian Horace Sessions Foote, and his descendant Mark Foote, a journalist and Washington correspondent. On the other side is poet and great-grandmother Gertrude Alcott Shoemaker; Louisa May Alcott was related to her. And today, Krissy’s mother, Marcia Mitchell, has written more than a dozen books, including The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War, which inspired 2019’s Official Secrets—a true story of a British whistleblower, starring Keira Knightley. Krissy and her mom edit for each other. Fiercely and honestly.

Krissy has spent her adult life as a freelance writer, authoring or coauthoring several books—including Rex Appeal, the source material for the 2014 Emmy^®-winning documentary Dinosaur 13, a film she assisted during production. She also writes, researches, and/or edits for other authors, as well as for television, film, and giant-screen projects. She’s co-owned both an art magazine and a bronze foundry, and has received national and state writing awards. As of this writing, she has a tantalizing line-up of (patient) books and scripts on deck. She adores Chocolate Top Cookies.